Strategy by Subtraction: Scaling by Doing Less (On Purpose)

Top 5 Subtractions That Actually Scale SaaS How ruthless reduction can outperform relentless addition. Founders love to build. It’s in the job description. New features, new markets, new hires, new OKRs. But real scale — the kind that compounds profit and outlives chaos — almost always comes from subtraction. Scaling by doing less on purpose is a strategy most teams avoid. Too risky. Too counterintuitive. Too quiet. But that’s exactly why it works: when everyone else is adding complexity as they grow, the sharp operator strips it away. This isn't minimalism for its own sake. It’s Strategic Subtraction — the art of intentionally doing fewer things, better, faster, and more profitably. We’ll walk through 5 high-leverage subtractions that yield surprisingly compounded returns. But first, the mental model you won’t see coming — --- ### 🧠 Mental Model: Simulation Cost Every decision, direction, or “priority” you introduce adds simulation cost. That’s the mental, emotional, and operational burden of constantly re-evaluating, testing, coordinating, and keeping every moving part alive. High simulation cost destroys velocity and confuses teams. Strategic subtraction’s power comes from simplifying the simulation internally — so your company can actually play offense. Now, let’s subtract what’s killing your speed. --- ## 1. Subtract Priorities: Cut Your OKRs in Half Every exec team ends up with a “no really, they’re ALL priorities” slide. But when everything's a priority, nothing drives. Here’s the subtraction move: Cut your OKRs by 50%. Rank them 1–10, keep the top 3–5, and kill the rest. Not “put on the backlog.” Not “revisit later.” Kill. 🚫 Don’t replace them with new ones. ✅ Instead, allocate 2–3x the resources, time, and executive focus to the surviving ones. What happens: - Momentum returns. No “death by context switching.” - Quality goes up — because focus goes up. - The team knows what winning looks like again. This move alone unsticks tired growth-stage teams. --- ## 2. Subtract Personas: Sell to Fewer People It’s tempting to “expand TAM” by selling to three new verticals. Better move? Fire two personas. Win the remaining one completely. Figure out which customer type: - Spends the least time in your sales cycle - Has the highest NRR/expansion potential - Most quickly “gets it” (low simulation cost!) Once you know that? Cut the rest. Build every playbook just for them. Marketing. Product. Success. Why this works: Simpler ICP = stronger signal = tighter motion. 🏆 Bonus: You become the killer product in one category vs an okay tool across many. --- ## 3. Subtract Internal Meetings: Start with the Calendar You can’t scale a company if every leader spends 30+ hours a week in meetings about scaling the company. Do a weekly “cost of coordination” audit. Look at your exec team’s calendar. Then subtract: - All recurring meetings without decisions made or documented outcomes - 1:1s that have become therapy - Standing strategy calls with no owner or prep Not every meeting is worth fixing. Some just need to die. What you’ll see within 30 days: - Decisions speed up - ICs get focus time - Your calendar becomes a tool, not a cage Use the freed-up time for direct impact. Not more talking about impact. --- ## 4. Subtract Features: Win by Doing Less, Better Product is where subtraction feels scary. Founders think “simple” = “incomplete.” But the easiest way to crush onboarding, usability, and LTV is to kill 20% of your product surface that no one is using (or paying for). You already know what to cut: - Dusty toggles built for that one customer two years ago - Deep-in-the-settings features users don’t even discover - New stuff devs shipped but GTM never hyped R...